Within a few minutes of meeting a client the other day I heard this, “I’m just a real person.” More than likely my facial expression registered a complete blank because we are all ‘real people’ with no need for the limiting adjective ‘just’ preceding the comment. What she meant, of course, is that she isn’t a model or a fitness, figure, or body building competitor. I think she wanted affirmation, mostly from herself, and maybe a little from me, that she’s a worthy subject for our kind of photography. It’s for people like her that we started BodyPhotage so women could see the unique beauty of their body and begin to appreciate, accept and celebrate themselves.

You are the sum of all you have ever been and experienced in your lifetime, like a crazy quilt. We all know what a quilt is, but crazy quilts of the very best kind were made from scraps of fabrics saved from items of clothing worn by you or family members and decorated by their creator with embroidery, buttons and sometimes hand paintings. The family heirloom I had was mostly made of silks and fancy fabrics that came from gowns and dresses commemorating special events and memorable occasions and was lovingly embellished with artistic embroidery and hand paintings with dates and names of loved ones and memories long gone.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we wore our life like our crazy quilt growing ever more colorful and interesting as we add to our life experiences? With age there does come a time when we feel increasingly invisible, described kindly as being “elderly” and just plain “old” by others. But every person has been so much more than that. They were someone’s precious child, perhaps a brother or a sister, a boyfriend/girlfriend, a lover, a provider and caregiver, very often a parent and a grandparent. Wrapped in our crazy quilt, to ward off the chills of old age, we‘d be visible again; the highlights of our life displayed artistically across our quilt to be admired or to serve as a source of conversation and connection.

This is the story she told us. “One day I went to visit my grandma in the assisted living facility where she’d recently moved. In her room was a life-size, cardboard cut-out of a Vegas-style showgirl complete with a feather-plumed headpiece. ‘Grandma, what are you doing with that in your room?’”

“Why honey, that’s me,” her grandmother answered. “When I was young and beautiful like you are now, I was a Vegas showgirl.”

All she could think was that her grandmother had a whole life about which she’d known next to nothing and that her sweet grandmother had so many untold stories to share.

Our client explained, “I try to take care of myself but I’m not getting any younger. I’ll earn every wrinkle and gray hair along the way but I really want to have sensuous pictures of me as a reminder to myself and others that I was once young and beautiful too!”

I’m betting she’ll still be beautiful years to come and hoping people take the time to look at the crazy quilt she created of her life.

Most of our photo sessions are a whole lot of fun but far more tame than I suspect most people might imagine, given that we are fairly well-known for nude photography. Our nudes are usually black and white with strong shadowing. While some images may have an erotic feel, they aren’t particularly showy or graphic, although people have their own definition of what is showy and what is erotic.

On rare occasions, we’ll get a phone call from someone inquiring about doing a photo shoot who begins the conversation with a lot of awkward pauses preparing me for a question I really don’t want to have to answer. So I’ll often interrupt and ask the caller if they’ve looked at our website because I think our site gives a very visual depiction of our style. For those who haven’t done their homework, I’ll suggest they take a look first and then call us back. That usually eliminates people asking if we’ll take pictures of “this “ or “that,” if you know what I mean.

So the other day, we had a call from someone who’d already met with us and booked her photo session. She started the conversation referencing our suggestion that she feel free to bring some personalized props with her for some of the shots. Then, the hemming and hawing began. “I’m a little nervous about asking you this,” and “Feel free to say ‘no’ to this,” and “I’ll understand if you don’t want to do this.” I’m thinking to myself, “Oh no. She’s going to ask me about bringing a sex toy to the shoot.” Finally she comes out with it, asking if she can bring some sexy, lace-up, black boots and an unloaded gun. Phew. That was a relief.

Several years ago a woman in her mid 40’s came for a consultation in contemplation of a photo shoot, which is how we like to begin the process. Seems like you wouldn’t, perhaps shouldn’t, show up for a nude photo shoot without first determining you feel safe & comfortable with the photographer/s. She’d brought a female friend to the consultation for moral support. As is usually the case, she booked a photo shoot for a few weeks out and showed up for the shoot, on time, by herself.

As you might expect, most people come in a bit nervous never having done anything like this before and not sure what they are most nervous about; being naked in front of someone they don’t know or more fearful they aren’t going to look any good. Five minutes into the shoot, the nervousness faded and two hours later she was walking a lot taller, with more confidence, and the knowledge that she was indeed beautiful in her own body. We set an appointment for her to come back to look at the proof sheets, hugged her good-bye at the door saying we’d see her next week.

Darrell looked out the window about 10 minutes later and commented that he thought she was still parked out front and was concerned that perhaps she was having car trouble. Before he could get out to inquire and check on her, she drove away. The following week, Darrell asked if she had some car problems after her photo shoot. This is how she explained the delay in leaving; “I’m a very successful and confident business woman. However, as you probably noted, my friend who was with me for the consultation, is an exceptionally beautiful woman. She and I have been best friends for more than 20 years and when I got to my car it hit me that this was the very first time that I felt like the beautiful one. It was just such an unexpected and emotional revelation that I sat outside in my car crying for a while and processing the experience. It’s not a big deal really.”